


Thank you (for returning the heart I lost)

by charons_boat



Category: Pentagon (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Ancient magic, Bleeding, Blood, Dark Magic, Domesticity, Emotionless Character, Getting Together, LITERALLY, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Old legends, POV Change, POV switch, Past Murder, Unintentional Injury, carved wounds, carving names in trees, dark magic isn't always evil magic, dr. bebe wooseok, echo writing, freaky trees, giant/jotun blood, hui is a human, implied setting in the future, kind of touch depravation?, mentioned jo jinho, mirrors but not identical, picnic dates, return of what was taken, self-induced isolation, the tree shows his emotions, transfer of wounds, wooseok doesn't have a heart, wooseok is kind of a dryad, yuto is a dark elf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28202199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charons_boat/pseuds/charons_boat
Summary: Wooseok has long been removed from his heart and everything to do with it, but he can still feel the touches of those at his tree. It's been so long since he felt someone.
Relationships: Adachi Yuto/Lee Hwitaek | Hui, Jung Wooseok/Adachi Yuto/Lee Hwitaek | Hui
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20
Collections: Constellations Fest for Pentagon





	1. Chapter 1

Adachi Yuto and Lee Hwitaek have grown up hearing stories. Many of them are harmless and sure to have no basis in truth, but there is one that no one in their little village doubts. For beyond their miniscule, ages-old town, there stands an ancient hill which is crowned by a great, red tree. Its bark is the deep crimson of blood, and its leaves are a shade or two lighter, shot through with veins of maroon and violet. The tree's leaves never fall, and its branches never break, but it is often seen shaking without wind being felt, and one or two swear they've seen it shift a few feet to or fro. It is told in village legends that the tree was once a man's heart, and that the man it belongs to still lives in the forest beyond the hill, on the side opposite the village. The abandoned, rickety cottage at the foot of the hill is their proof that he once used to stay close to his tree out of fear that it'd be cut down. 

No one in their village doubts the ancient story, but not all take it so seriously. Yuto and Hwitaek, optimistic youths that they are, certainly don't believe that the man is still alive, nor that he's any danger to anyone. This is why they make their first trip to the tree and--as a joke between friends who can't see their own truths--carve a heart into the tree, filling its empty space with H+Y.


	2. Chapter 2

The forest is unbearably quiet at times, but it's also beautiful. The trees are a wonderful, emerald green which turns into various reds and golds and oranges in the fall. It is quiet and peaceful, and because I live here, no one dares to enter. I am left to the birds and the squirrels and the deer. I don't have to worry about being found when I sit on mossy boulders with closed eyes, and I don't have to worry about hunters or foresters killing the animals and the trees. I can wander aimlessly for hours, feeling an emptiness in my chest and being unbothered by the silence that reigns when there isn't anything else awake in the forest.

At times, I do miss having a heart. The beating was comforting to me when the rest of the world was being far too much for me to handle. At the time that I lost my heart, I'd already been cast out of the village as an unbearable evil. I don't miss the emotions that had come with that, but I do miss the good ones, like happiness and love. Emotions are things I can only feel when I touch the tree on the hill, and I don't touch it very often because when I do, emotion floods through me and threatens to drown me.

Pain isn't something I feel either; at least, I don't feel my own pain. The pain I feel is echoed from the tree, and I suppose it must work the other way as well. When I scrape my arms and feel nothing, the tree must feel it instead. I broke my arm once, and I'd visited the tree to find that a branch had broken part-way. My arm healed just fine, but the broken branch on the tree healed with a little bend in it. So then, while we're mirrors of each other, we don't react in exactly the same way. That's just fine by me if it means that I rarely feel any pain.

* * *

The tree stands far, far taller than it had looked from Yuto's house. Its roots crawl all over the top of the hill, a network of bumps and bulges under the ground that don't quite touch each other. The branches overhead crisscross overhead like a tangled web, blocking out the blue sky with blood red branches and leaves. There is no moss growing on the tree, and there aren't any vines either. The only thing on top of the hill is the grand tree.

"What is this," Yuto murmurs beside me. Even I'm not sure, because it looks somewhat like an oak, but there are no acorns. The leaves are very oddly-shaped, some like anatomical hearts and some like the kinds that little kids draw. The light that falls through the leaves comes out red, and the two of us stand awash in the crimson light. It'd be scary to most people, but I'm Yuto thinks it's pretty, and I think it looks pretty on him. We walk closer, trying to avoid as many roots as we can. (And here, Wooseok can feel the slight pinch in his toes, like a child is standing atop his feet. He stops in his tracks and stares as his bare feet turn a little pink.)

Yuto, out of curiosity, gently drags his fingers over the bark. "It's not as rough as I thought it'd be, seeing as it's so old. It's a little rougher than that birch tree Sangyeon has in his backyard. (Like a faint breath of wind, Wooseok can feel the ghost of fingers dragging down his chest. It brings goosebumps to his skin and a very slight flush to his cheeks. He continues to stare and wonder.) I tentatively place my hand flat against the bark as well, marveling at the strangeness of this ancient tree. (Wooseok feels the phantom press of a hand against his skin, just below where his heart would be, and he can almost feel a thudding beat that hasn't been there for years. He can tell it's a different hand because the fingers feel different against his skin. He closes his eyes and hums, swaying back and forth.)

When the tree begins to waver slightly, shaking without any wind--and it'd have to be a tornado level gust to shake such a thick tree--I pull my hand away and take a few steps back, staring with wide eyes. Yuto grabs my hand on impulse, and blood rushes to my cheeks. We'd agreed to come out and carve our initials in a heart into the tree as a joke, but I'd wanted it to be more than a joke. (The hands pull away, and Wooseok goes still. He keeps his eyes closed and waits.) The tree stops wavering, and Yuto carefully pulls out his knife. He glances at me, and I nod slightly. As he carves the heart into the tree, he bites his lip and braces himself against the tree to deal with the weird angle. (Wooseok feels an ache in his chest, right over where his heart used to be. The ragged shirt he wears darkens as he stares, and when he pulls the shirt over his head, he finds the bleeding tracks of a heart carved into his skin. The large hand pressed into his skin disappears, replaced by a smaller one momentarily. He feels next to nothing as whoever is at his tree carves an _H_ into the tree, followed by the bigger hand returning and carving _\+ Y_. Wooseok doesn't know how the tree smiles for him, but he figures it must be shaking with pain or morbid joy: this is the first time anyone has ever carved something into his tree. He hadn't even known that people still did that.)

The tree begins to waver again as we back away. Yuto shuffles back and forth for a moment before stepping closer and pressing a kiss to the carving. The dark elf smiles at me, and I wonder if he's blushing like I am. "Why'd you kiss it," I ask. He shrugs and shoves his hands in his pockets before pivoting on his right foot and walking towards me, back towards the village. "Felt like it," he responds. I tangle my fingers in each other before doing what he had, pressing a gentle kiss to the bark. It's probably not sanitary in the slightest, but I don't quite care. Suddenly, as we walk down the hill, two of the strange leaves fall in front of us. Yuto catches both and hands one to me with a big smile. (Wooseok barely feels the featherlight kisses against the bleeding wound in his tree and his chest. His lips quirk up in a barely-there smile, and he presses a slender-fingered hand against his chest. He's glad for the new heart. He purses his lips and makes a fist with his hand, bursting it open like a firework. He wonders if that did anything at the tree.)

On the way back down, I notice that the tree continues to sway back and forth calmly. There are no birds singing on the hill, no animals at all, in fact. It's just the quiet creaking of the trunk and rustling of the leaves as it moves of its own volition. (Wooseok wonders if they'll come back. He hopes they will. The ancient, eternally-young man wants the strangers to come back, so he can thank them and show them his new heart. It's been a long time since anyone has made him feel anything--made the _tree_ feel anything--significant.)


	3. Chapter 3

It's been a very long time since I last visited the tree on the hill. Sometimes, I think I can spot some of my old injuries reflected upon its branches and roots. I try not to look at the village beyond the hill because though it hasn't gotten too much bigger in the hundreds (or thousands, maybe) of years since I've lived in it, it has changed substantially. It changes every time I come back, and I hate it. So, I stay in the forest.

This time, though, I have a reason to visit. I purposefully look towards the village, and I wait, and I wonder, and I hope that the two strangers who carved me a new heart will return. I want to meet them and thank them. A very long time ago, there was no tree on the hill to wait under, but I recall staring towards the town in the very same way as I waited and waited. I'd been nervous, then, and anxious, too. I'd finally decided to tell Jinho… but it hadn't worked out. If I were normal, right now I'd be feeling betrayed and upset. There'd be indignation swirled with disbelief, and my brow would be furrowed and a glare would be heavy-set across my face. As it is, though, I sit and stare and wait while above me, the tree shakes with all the emotion I cannot feel. I think it mellows out into rage. The quiet rattle of bones echoes in my ears, a reminder of the body that used to hang pierced upon the crimson branches. I remember thinking he'd deserved it for ruining me. Now, I can't help but compare him to the other two.

His hands were smaller than both of theirs; they were always engulfed by mine when he teasingly demanded I hold them in winter, since mine were bigger and warmer. His fingers were more calloused and not quite so slender as either of theirs. He never gave me any heart at all, and in fact, stole mine instead. There's not much else I can compare. I assume that they're both taller than him based on where their hands landed on the tree, though one would only _barely_ be taller. I think the one with the bigger hands might be stronger, too, considering he was able to carve more deeply into the wood than the other, and Jinho had never been able to chop any wood for the fires. The tree has calmed now, and it lets out my sigh for me. I continue to wait and watch.

* * *

  
I'm not quite sure why we return to the tree. It sort of, almost, feels like _our_ place now, if you can call it that. Yuto swings his arms gently, careful not to jostle the picnic basket too much. He smiles widely as we walk, and I hope it's for the same reason I am: our loosely-twined hands swinging between us. The dark elf is painfully shy, and maybe it's part of his kind's nature, but it makes the moments away like this all the sweeter.

Of course, the moment we crest the hill and find a strange man with vibrant red hair sitting there, Yuto freezes and lets go of my hand. The man just stares at us, face entirely blank. His face is rather pretty, with big, dark eyes and a strong nose. His plush lips almost quirk upwards into a smile, but they settle into neutrality again. His hair hangs in his face, the dark roots just barely showing through. I wonder who he is and what he's doing here, where he came from. I've never seen him before.

As he stands, I realized he's barefoot. His feet are buried in the grass up to the hems of his ragged pants. His shirt isn't in much better condition, more of a dirty rag than a proper shirt. It's stained dark red over his heart. The tree shakes gently, and once again there is no wind. The movements are faster and smaller this time, though. It's almost as if the tree is scared.

"Who are you," Yuto demands. His face is set in a scowl, and he'd moved in front of me while I wasn't paying attention.

"It's--" The man's voice is extremely hoarse, and he coughs. "I think my name is Jung Wooseok. It's been a long time, so I'm not really sure." He shrugs before glancing at the tree. "Are you two… _H_ and _Y_?" He points to the heart on the tree as he asks. Yuto doesn't answer, just keeps scowling, so I take a step forward and nod.

"I'm Hwitaek, and this is Yuto. We carved the heart in the tree, yes. Why do you ask?" The man doesn't react, but all the leaves on the tree begin to shake. They seem happy. Wooseok pulls off his shirt and reveals the heart carved into his chest. Even at first glance, I can tell it's exactly identical to the one on the tree. Yuto has gone from scowling to furrowing his brows in confusion. "I don't… understand," he murmurs.

"The tree is my heart," Wooseok says simply. His voice progressively becomes smoother as he talks. The question of _how_ remains unspoken as Wooseok sits down again, leaning back against his hands. He's careful not to touch the tree. "A very long time ago, someone in my family mated with a giant. It was a big deal back then, and it was obvious how much bigger I was than everyone else. Most people were very short at the time, however. I'd already been cast out of the village, but I had this… friend. Jinho. I loved him. He… thought that was abominable when I told him. Jinho attacked me, and the ancient magic in my blood just… woke up." As he speaks, the tree trembles. Wooseok's face stays perfectly still. "Only dark magic can make you lose your heart like I did, and Jotun magic is dark magic, always. In a moment of terror, my heart bled down my fingers and dripped into the ground." He coughs again, and I almost think I can see tears shining in his eyes. "At the time, I suppose that the magic thought that was the only way to save me. So, my heart burst into this tree and took Jinho with it as it continued to grow. His body used to be hanging in the tree, but his bones have long since crumbled, I suppose." He almost, _almost_ looks pensive as he stares at the branches over our head.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," I whisper. He shrugs and leans forward.

"It's okay. When I lost my heart, my thoughts and emotions shattered into bits and I fled for a long while. Only recently-- well, not recently for you. It was many human lifetimes ago that I returned, and I found the world much changed from what I knew then. I don't like seeing the changes every time I come back, so I just stay away. I don't visit often anymore, but I used to live in that cottage at the bottom of the hill. I have no heart and can show no emotion, which is why the tree moves on its own. I know the village still thinks me a cursed or evil being." Wooseok pauses and places a hand over the slow-healing wound in his chest. It had been weeks ago that we put the heart in the tree, and even now the heart on Wooseok's chest is red and puffy. "But, what I'm trying to tell you by explaining everything is this: dark sorcery isn't what's evil. Having used it to spare my life and take Jinho's instead doesn't make me evil, it just makes me desperate. It becomes evil when people use it for the wrong thing. All I did was fuck myself over." He spits out the last sentence angrily, his face scrunched up with emotion, and I realize his hand has come to rest on one of the roots. He winces and pulls away almost immediately, clutching at his head. His quiet whimpers almost bring tears to my eyes. Yuto is the one that kneels down and carefully brings Wooseok's hands away from his head.

"Are you okay?" A slight tremor runs through the tree at Yuto's deep voice. Wooseok doesn't respond. "What happened?" Wooseok doesn't look at us while he explains.

"The only time I feel emotion is when I touch the tree. I haven't felt emotion in so long that it overwhelms me now. All I ever feel from the tree is pain, but it's not as… _there_ as it used to be." He's silent for a few seconds before finally looking up at us. "Well, I forgot that… when you came last time, I could feel your hands. And the… the little kisses. It was nice," he whispers. I blush heavily, and a glance at Yuto shows that he is too. Wooseok traces his fingers over the heart-shaped wound on his chest and smiles faintly. "Thank you for the new heart," he breathes.


	4. Chapter 4

It takes a long time to rebuild Wooseok's cottage. Yuto and I had been wanting to move out anyways, and Wooseok was more than willing to rebuild the cottage if it meant we could all live together. We don't label it. We just… live together, enjoy each other's company and comfortable chatter. The dilapidated kitchen becomes full of warmth and rich smells. Wooseok doesn't quite need to eat, but he enjoys it regardless. The bedroom is cozy and the shelves are full of random things Wooseok finds lying around in the forest. We buy him new clothes, and he takes a great liking to the odd designs on band tees; Wooseok develops a habit of stealing Yuto's shirts and walking around without any pants on. 

Wooseok is strange. Since the addition of his "new heart", he's been able to show fragments of emotion again. The moments are fleeting, few and far between. Despite his overall lack of personal emotion, he's considerate and caring. When Yuto burns his hand on the stove, Wooseok quietly wraps a bandage around his wrist. He makes breakfast for us a lot, and he always makes sure the porch light is on if someone is to work a late night. 

The day we take a trip into town, a few years after carving our heart into that tree, it's cut down. Wooseok panics as emotions flood back into him, and Yuto has to carry him back to his parents' house. Later that night, when he's calmed down some but is still shaking, Wooseok admits that he'd been sure he'd die if someone ever cut down the tree. He tells us that he's glad that fate waited this long to give everything back to him.


End file.
